What do Los Angeles Hydroponics Have in Common with a Martian's Omelet?

Let me inform you, if you were stuck on the space station for 6 months and had craving a Denver omelet in Los Angeles, hydroponics would save the day. 

But wait, let's back up. Foremost, what is this Hydrowhatchamacallit? Eventhough we are used to seeing plants cultivated in soil, they do not necessarily need soil to grow. Hydroponics is a method of breeding plants which utilizes water and melted nutrients. "Hydro" = water and "ponos" = labor. Therefore, hydroponics basically means "working water". The benefits of hydroponics farming is as huge as a whole grocery aisle. 

First, by cultivating in water the absorption of nutrients is accelerated. The growth rate on a hydroponics plant is 30-50 percent faster than in a soil plant cultivated under the same conditions. This makes for plentiful harvests (more!) over less time and utilizing less space. The necessary nutrients are delivered straight to the plant by the hydroponics systems. Hence not like in soil, roots do not spread as much as they do. Since the plants do not have to hunt in the soil for the nutrients it demands and this saved energy allows them to grow faster and yield more, scientists believe that the growth velocity of hydroponically grown plants is higher. Quite impressive. 

That's right. For a dear number of years NASA has been developing means for space station astronauts and eventually planetary colonizers to grow their own food. It's a necessity as there is no affordable and simple way for them to bring 3 years of food stuff with them. Hydroponics establishes to be the most efficient means to generate fresh foods specially in space where longer term life will need to be nurtured as we go out further and further. It will aid minimize the weight of the supplies that have to be lifted off the Earth. And, because space is at the top of outer space colonies, colonists will need to utilize more efficient agricultural techniques than those employed on Earth. Although hydroponics doesn't need soil and requires space a lot less than conventional methods, hydroponically grown plants are oftentimes healthier and significantly larger than plants normally grown. Also a cleaner method of growing plants than soil-based systems is hydroponics. It is also thought that dirty water produced by the astronauts could be cleaned by recycling it via a plant system.

Astronauts can definitely breed just about anything their tummies want, as long as they have the seeds and the space to do so. Fruits. Herbs. Vegetables. Anything. So our astronauts' tummies will be kept satisfied with all the best delicacies from Earth. All thanks to Los Angeles hydroponics.